BEMIDJI - Galen Nagle isn't listed among the 50 Legends of Bemidji State hockey, but all who played with him will tell you that it was a privilege to share the ice with the former goaltender.

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"Galen was a special person," said Robin Anderson, who was Nagle's teammate on the 1983-84 team that won the NCAA Division II national championship with a perfect 31-0 record.

Nagle was between the pipes when the Beavers thumped Merrimack 8-1 in the championship game to cap that memorable season.

"That team was a family and Galen exemplified everything a teammate is supposed to be," said Joel Otto, a center on the team.

"Galen, Monsy (Scott Monsrud), Luther (Drey Bradley), Davey (Dave Jerome) and I came together in 1980 and survived all the way to 1983-84. That was a special group and you don't find many guys like Galen. Because of him, I wouldn't miss this tournament," Otto added.

The tournament Otto referenced is the Galen Nagle Memorial, and the 15th edition of the event will be held today at the Bemidji Town & Country Club.

Otto and Anderson will be there along with about 170 other friends, teammates and Beaver hockey alumni.

They will gather to remember Nagle and to promote and enhance Beaver hockey.

All proceeds from the Texas scramble tournament and the accompanying auction will directly benefit BSU men's hockey and the endowment fund set up in Nagle's name.

"It means a lot for me to be able to come back to Bemidji, a community that has done so much for me, and help the Bemidji State hockey team," said Matt Read, a 2011 BSU graduate and current member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Read, Otto and Bradley are among at least 11 former Bemidji State hockey All-Americans participating in today's tournament. Among the others scheduled to play are Dennis Gibbons, Gary Gustason, Bryan Grand, Eric Gager, Terry Burns, Andrew Murray, O.J. Kennett and Chris Morque.

The field will also feature 10 of the 50 Legends for 50 Years greats. That list includes Bradley, Burns, Brendan Cook, Gager, Grand Gustason, Kennett, Morque, Murray and Otto.

The public is invited to participate in the auction, which will be held following the afternoon golf round.

For more information about the Galen Nagle Endowment Fund call Jake Bluhm in the Beaver Pride Office at 218-755-2827 or contact him at jbluhm@bemidjistate.edu.